ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre has seen quieter days and business slow down after a cluster of tuberculosis (TB) cases was detected in the area.

Hawkers CNA spoke to shared that customers believed TB to be deadly and infectious, and have avoided the area.

Since then, business has dropped by half.

One stall assistant described business as being worse than the Covid-19 period — back then, customers would still visit the food centre to order takeaway, but not during this period, he said.

Support

In a show of support for the hawkers at the food centre, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng, decided to pay a visit to ABC Brickworks for lunch and coffee.

They were accompanied by staff from the Ministry and the National Environment Agency as well.

Fu shared in a Facebook post that while some stalls were closed, many remained open.

"We could not resist getting chicken rice, fried Hokkien mee, roast duck, popiah, carrot cake, dumpling soup and many more to share," wrote Fu.

"If you are in the Bukit Merah area and looking for affordable good eats, why not drop by ABC Brickworks Food Centre to show support to our hawkers?" she added.

TB screening at Bukit Merah

In addition to a previously detected cluster at Block 2 Jalan Bukit Merah, 10 more TB cases were detected in the area by the National TB Programme between February 2022 and July 2023.

As such, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is conducting a mandatory TB screening, which residents, as well as stallholders and employees at ABC Brickworks, are required to attend.

The National TB Programme's genetic analysis in September 2023 revealed that the 10 cases had similar genetic make-up as the cases in Block 2 Jalan Bukit Merah, suggesting possible spread beyond the block to its immediate vicinity.

According to MOH, TB is typically spread through close and prolonged contact with an infectious individual.

As such, the risk of transmission to persons who are not close contacts of a TB case is very low.

What's there to eat at ABC Brickworks?

Wow Wow West

Yuan Yuan Claypot Rice

Jin Jin Dessert

Sheikh Indian Pakistani Food

Tong Fong Fatt Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice

Top photo from Grace Fu / FB